Electronic payment restriction

ABSTRACT

A request to make a purchase from a mobile device of a first entity is detected. In response to the detected request, a determination is made whether the first entity has a subservient relationship with a second entity. In response to a determination that the first entity has the subservient relationship with the second entity, another determination is made whether the first entity is located proximate to the second entity. A first set of purchasing limitations is applied to the request in response to the determination that the first entity has the subservient relationship with the second entity and a determination that the first entity is located proximate to the second entity.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application is a continuation patent application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/564,044, filed on Aug. 1, 2012, entitled“Electronic Payment Restriction”, the disclosure of which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to electronic commerce and,more particularly, relates to a method and system for use by parents torestrict purchases made by children, for example.

Related Art

Electronic payment for products purchased at brick and mortar stores iscommon. Such electronic payment can be made using cards, such as creditcards, debit cards, and gift cards, for example. Such electronic paymentcan be made using security tokens, such as software security tokens andhardware security tokens, for example. Whether the electronic payment ismade by card, security token, or another means, a payment provider, suchas Paypal, Inc., can facilitate the payment.

The payment provider can facilitate authentication of the purchaser,determine if the purchaser is authorized to make the purchase (candetermine that the purchaser has not exceeded a deposited amount, e.g.,for a debit card or gift card, or has not exceeded a credit limit, forexample), and can facilitate the transfer of money from the purchaser toa merchant so as to pay the merchant for the purchased product. Thepayment provider can pay the merchant with money previously depositedwith the payment provider by the purchaser, can transfer money from abank account of the purchaser, or can bill the purchaser for the amountof the purchase.

Location-aware social networks such as Foursquare and Google Latitudeprovide apps for mobile devices like cellular telephones. By using suchan app, a social network member can check in at a location. Checking inat a location allows other, selected, members of the social network toview the location of the member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for electronic paymentrestriction, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a method for electronic paymentrestriction, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing further detail of the method forelectronic payment restriction, according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of a computer that is suitablefor use in the system for electronic payment restriction, according toan embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and systems are provided for facilitating control by a parent ofa child's purchasing of products from a merchant using a credit card,debit card, gift card, security token, mobile device, or the like.According to an embodiment, a payment provider, such as Paypal, Inc.,can authorize the purchase of a product from the merchant if both thechild and the parent are checked in with the same merchant via a socialnetwork. Thus, the child can only make purchases when the parent ispresent. This requirement for proximity between the child and the parentcan provide the parent with an opportunity to more closely monitorpurchases made by the child. The methods and systems can be used formobile payments and non-mobile payments.

The parent can be any person who has authority and/or capacity to makeat least some decisions regarding another person, e.g., the child. Forexample, the parent can be an adult, a biological parent, a fosterparent, a guardian, a custodian, an employer, or a supervisor.

The child can be any person who lacks authority and/or capacity to makeat least some decisions regarding their self. For example, the child canbe a minor, a biological child of the parent, a foster child of theparent, a person who has a guardian, a person who has a custodian, anemployee, or someone who has a supervisor.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for electronic paymentrestriction, in accordance with an embodiment. The system can include amerchant device 110. The merchant device 110 can be a merchant checkoutterminal, a computer, and/or a server, for example. The merchant device110 can include a memory 111 and one or more processors 112.

The system can include a child's mobile device 120. The child's mobiledevice 120 can be carried by the child. The child's mobile device 120can be a cellular telephone, a smart telephone, a hand held computer, alaptop computer, a notebook computer, or a tablet computer, for example.The child's mobile device 120 can include a processor 121, a memory 122,and a global positioning system (GPS) 123.

Similarly, the system can include a parent's mobile device 170. Theparent's mobile device 170 can be carried by the parent. The parent'smobile device 170 can be a cellular telephone, a smart telephone, a handheld computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, or a tabletcomputer, for example. The parent's mobile device 170 can include aprocessor 171, a memory 172, and a global positioning system (GPS) 173.

The child's mobile device 120 and/or the parent's mobile device 170 canbe a near field communications (NFC) enabled mobile device. The child'smobile device 120 and/or the parent's mobile device 170 can communicatewith the merchant device 110 via near field communications (NFC). Thechild's mobile device 120 and/or the parent's mobile device 170 cancommunicate (such as with one another, the merchant device 110, achild's social network 150, a parent's social network 160, and/or apayment server 130) via any desired network or means. For example, thechild's mobile device 120 and/or the parent's mobile device 170 cancommunicate via WiFi, WiMax, Bluetooth, a local area network (LAN), awide area network (WAN), and/or the Internet.

The system can include the payment server 130. The payment server 130can be a server of a payment provider, such as Paypal, Inc. The paymentserver 130 can be a single server or can be a plurality of servers. Thepayment server 130 can include one or more processors 131 and a memory132. The memory 132 can be a memory of the payment server 130 or amemory that is associated with the payment server 130. The memory 132can be a distributed memory. The memory 132 can store a parent account133 and a merchant account 134. The parent account 133 can be an accountof the parent of the child. The child can have a payment provideraccount or subaccount (such as a subaccount of the parent account). Theparent and/or the child can be users of the payment provider.

The system can include the child's social network 150. The child'ssocial network 150 can be a location-aware child's social network 150.Thus, the child's social network 150 can, at least to some degree,monitor or be aware of the location of a member, e.g., the child. Forexample, the child can check in at a location (such as via an app of thechild's mobile device 120 or via an app of the parent's mobile device170, wherein the app uses a location provided by the GPS 123, 173) orthe child or the child's mobile device 120 can otherwise inform thechild's social network 150 of the member's location. Foursquare andGoogle latitude are examples of location-aware social networks.

The system can include the parent's social network 160. The parent'ssocial network 160 can be a location-aware parent's social network 160.Thus, the parent's social network 160 can, at least to some degree,monitor or be aware of the location of a member, e.g., the parent. Forexample, the parent can check in at a location (such as via an app ofthe parent's mobile device 170 or via an app of the child's mobiledevice 120, wherein the app uses a location provided by the GPS 173,123) or the parent or the parent's mobile device 170 can otherwiseinform the parent's social network 160 of the member's location.

The location of the child and/or the location of the parent can beprovided, such as to the processor 131, via means other than a socialnetwork, e.g., the child's social network 150 and/or the parent's socialnetwork 160. For example, the payment server 130 can obtain the locationof the child and/or the location of the parent from the GPS 123 of thechild's mobile device 120 and/or the GPS 173 of the parent's mobiledevice 170.

The child's mobile device 120 and/or the parent's mobile device 170 canreport the location of the child and/or the parent, such as to thepayment server 130. The child's mobile device 120 and/or the parent'smobile device 170 can report the location of the child and/or the parentto any other device, computer, or server. For example, the child'smobile device 120 and/or the parent's mobile device 170 can report thelocation of the child and/or the parent to a location monitoring serverthat monitors the location of mobile devices (and thus monitors thelocation of people, vehicles, or other items). The location monitoringserver can report the locations of the child and/or the parent to thepayment server 130. Alternatively, the payment server 130 can query thelocation monitoring server regarding the location of the child and/orthe parent. For example, the payment server 130 can query the locationmonitoring server regarding the location of the child and/or the parentin response to the child initiating a purchase transaction.

As a further example, the payment server 130 can obtain the location ofthe child and/or the parent from the merchant device 110. The paymentserver 130 can obtain the location of the parent from the merchantdevice 110 when the parent checks out, e.g., makes a purchase from themerchant. The payment server 130 can obtain the location of the childfrom the merchant device 110 when the child checks out, e.g., makes apurchase from the merchant.

The parent and/or the child can enter their location manually. Forexample, the child can enter the child's location by typing the child'slocation into the child's mobile device 120 and/or the parent can enterthe parent's location by typing the parent's location into the parent'smobile device 170. As a further example, the child can enter the child'slocation by selecting the child's location from a map presented by thechild's mobile device 120 or the parent can enter the parent's locationby selecting the parent's location from a map presented by the parent'smobile device 120.

According to an embodiment, the parent can enter the parent's locationmanually and the child cannot enter the child's location manually. Theparent can enter the child's location manually. Thus, the parent can bebetter assured that the child's location has been entered accurately.

The merchant device 110, the child's mobile device 120, the parent'smobile device 170, and the payment server 130 can communicate with oneanother via a network, such as the Internet 140. The merchant device110, the child's mobile device 120, the parent's mobile device 170, andthe payment server 130 can communicate with one another via a pluralityof networks, such as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks(WANs), cellular telephone networks, and the like.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are flow charts that describe examples of operation of theelectronic payment restriction system, according to embodiments thereof.Note that one or more of the steps described herein may be combined,omitted, or performed in a different order as desired or appropriate.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a method for electronic paymentrestriction, according to an embodiment. A child can enter a store of amerchant and can check in with the merchant via the child's socialnetwork 150, as shown in step 201. Similarly, a parent of the child canenter the same store and can check in with the same merchant via aparent's social network 160, as shown in step 202. The child's socialnetwork 150 and the parent's social network 160 can be the same socialnetwork. The child's social network 150 and the parent's social network160 can be different social networks.

The child's social network 150 can be a location-aware social network.Similarly, the parent's social network 160 can be a location-awaresocial network. Thus, when the child or the parent checks in with theirrespective social network 150 or 160, the child's social network 150 canobtain the location of the child or parent's social network 160 canobtain the location of the parent. For example, the child's socialnetwork 150 can obtain the location of the child via the GPS 123 of thechild's mobile device 120 and the parent's social network 160 can obtainthe location of the parent via the GPS 173 of the parent's mobile device170.

The child can initiate a purchase transaction for a product of themerchant, such as via the merchant device 110, as shown in step 203. Forexample, the child can begin checkout with the merchant and can swipe acard, enter a code, e.g., personal identification number (PIN) using acard reader or a keypad of the merchant device 110.

The child can initiate the purchase transaction via the child's mobiledevice 120. For example, the child can initiate the purchase transactionby starting an app on the child's mobile device 120 that facilitatesmobile payment for the purchase via the child's mobile device 120.

The merchant device 110 can communicate with the payment server 130 todetermine whether or not the child is authorized to purchase theproduct, as shown in step 204. In order to determine whether or not thechild is authorized to purchase the product, the payment server 130 canaccess the parent account 133 with which the child is associated.

The payment server 130 can verify that the child is authorized make thepurchase by determining that the purchase will not cause an accountbalance limit (such as for a debit card or a gift card) or a creditlimit (such as for a credit card) to be exceeded, for example. Thepayment server 130 can further verify that the child is authorized makethe purchase by determining that the purchase is for an item that thechild is authorized to purchase and/or is not for an item that the childis not authorized to purchase. For example, the child can be authorizedto purchase clothing and can be not authorized to purchase food items orvideo games.

Items that the child is authorized to purchase and/or items that thechild is not authorized to purchase can be provided to the paymentserver 130 during a setup process. For example, these items can belisted or selected when the parent is setting up the payment provideraccount for the child, e.g., when the parent is adding the child to theparent's payment provider account. The parent can be presented with alist of proposed items by the payment server 130 and the parent canselect those items from the list which the child is to be authorized topurchase and/or can select from the list those items which the child isnot to be authorized to purchase. Authorized or unauthorized purchasescan also be updated after account set-up in various ways. For example,the parent can revise settings by accessing the account through thepayment provider or the settings may be revised when the parent approvesor denies a purchase request from the child. The child may be attemptingto purchase an item not on an approved list, but the parent may approveand be asked whether the item or type of item (or other parametersassociated with the purchase request) should be added as an approveditem or type for future purchase requests.

Items which the child is authorized to purchase and items which thechild is not authorized to purchase can depend upon various factors. Forexample, items which the child is authorized to purchase and items whichthe child is not authorized to purchase can depend upon the age of thechild, the day of the week, the month, or any other factor. The parentcan enter the age of the child and the payment serve 130 can present theparent with a list of items that are appropriate for purchase by a childof the entered age. The parent can then modify the list, if desired.Similarly, the payment serve 130 can present the parent with a list ofitems that are not appropriate for purchase by a child of the enteredage. Again, the parent can then modify the list, if desired. The parentcan define one or more different lists of items which the child isauthorized to purchase and the parent can define one or more differentlists of items which the child is not authorized to purchase for eachone of a plurality of different children. The different lists can beused at different times or under different conditions, as discussedherein.

An amount associated with purchases made by the child can be limited bythe parent. For example, the number of purchases, the dollar amount ofeach purchase, and/or a total dollar amount for purchases (such as forall purchases made in a given time period, such as a day, a week, amonth, or a year) can be limited by the parent, such as during the setup process. Such limits can vary depending upon any desired factors. Forexample, the total dollar amount for purchases made within a day can beincreased on weekends, holidays, during summer (non-school) months, andon the child's birthday. The limits can vary in any desired manner. Forexample, the limits can increase over time (such as at a uniform rateover time or in a stair-step fashion, such as on each birthday of thechild).

Exceptions to the limits can be made. For example, the child can requestan exception to a limit for a particular purchase. The desire for theexception to the limit can be communicated to the parent and the parentcan then either accept or decline the exception. The desire for theexception to the limit can be communicated to the parent automaticallywhen the child attempts to exceed the limit. The desire for theexception to the limit can be communicated to the parent in advance withrespect to the purchase and the exception can be pre-authorized by theparent.

If the child is authorized to purchase the product, then the purchasetransaction is completed, as shown in step 205. The child can beauthorized to purchase the product by the payment server 130 if thechild and the parent are in the same store or are otherwise proximateone another, as discussed herein. Completing the transaction can includethe child receiving the product purchased, receiving a receipt for theproduct purchased, and leaving the store.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing further detail of the method forelectronic payment restriction, according to an embodiment. A memory 132can store account information for a parent, wherein the accountinformation can include information regarding a child of the parent, asshown in step 301. One or more processors 131 can receive acommunication including an indication of a desire of the child topurchase a product from a merchant, as shown in step 302. Theprocessor(s) 131 can access an account of the parent of the child (suchas the parent account 133), as shown in step 303. The processor(s) 131can determine from the parent account 133 if the child is authorized topurchase the product, as shown in step 304. The processor(s) 131 canaccess the child's social network 150 and can thereby determine alocation of the child, as shown in step 305. The processor(s) 131 canaccess a parent's social network 160 and can thereby determine alocation of the parent, as shown in step 306. The processor(s) 131 canprovide authorization for the child to purchase the product if the childand the parent are at the same location, e.g., in the same store, asshown in step 307.

Determining the location of the child can comprise determining if thechild has checked in with the merchant on the child's social network150. Determining the location of the parent can comprise determining ifthe parent has checked in with the merchant on the parent's socialnetwork 160. The child and the parent can be determined to be at thesame location if the child and the parent are checked in at the samestore with the child's social network 150 and the parent's socialnetwork 160.

The child and the parent can be determined to be at the same location ifthe child and the parent are proximate one another. The child and theparent can be determined to be proximate one another if the child andthe parent are within a predetermined distance from one another. Forexample, the child and the parent can be determined to be proximate oneanother if the child and the parent are within 50 feet, 100 feet, 200feet, 300 feet or more of one another. The distance can be specified bythe parent, such as during a set up process.

The check in times for the child and the parent can be required to bewithin a predetermined time with respect to one another. For example,the check in times can be required to be within 5 minutes, 10 minutes,20 minutes, 30 minutes, or more of one another.

The child and the parent can be determined to be at the same location ifthe child and the parent are checked in with two different merchantsthat are near to one another. For example, the child and the parent canbe determined to be at the same location if the child and the parent arechecked in with merchants that are next to one another. As a furtherexample, the child and the parent can be determined to be at the samelocation if the child and the parent are checked in with merchants thatare within 50 feet, 100 feet, 200 feet, 300 feet or more of one another.

According to an embodiment, the electronic payment restriction methodand system can be used by the parent to control purchases made by thechild regardless of the location of the parent and the child. Forexample, the child can check in with a merchant, such as via the child'ssocial network, and any desired restrictions or limitations can be placeupon purchases made by the child from the merchant. The limitations canbe predefined and applied by the payment server 130. The limitations canbe defined in real time and applied by the parent, any other person, ora machine. The limitations can be either predefined or not predefined.The limitations can be applied regardless of the proximity of the parentto the child. Thus, the parent can control purchases made by the childregardless of the proximity of the parent to the child.

Any desired combination of proximity based limitations and non-proximitybased limitation can be used. For example, one set of limitations can beused to control purchases of the child when the parent is proximate,e.g., in the same store, as the child and another, different, set oflimitations can be used to control purchases of the child when theparent is not proximate the child.

The limitations can be modified in real time. The parent can change thelimitations at any desired time. For example, the parent can change aparticular limitation in response to a request to do so from the child.

Approval of the parent for the child to purchase the product can berequested by the child if the child and the parent are not at the samelocation (and thus the payment server 130 does not automatically approvethe purchase transaction). Approval of the parent for the child topurchase the product can be requested by the child if the purchasetransaction is not automatically approved by the payment server 130because the purchase exceeds a predefined limit, as discussed herein.

According to an embodiment, the parent can receive notification of thepurchase or pending purchase. The parent can receive the notificationvia text messaging, email, voice, or any other method. Thus, the parentcan have an opportunity to monitor the purchase promptly.

According to an embodiment, a method can comprise storing, in a memory132, account information for a parent, the account information includinginformation regarding a child of the parent. The method can furthercomprise receiving, electronically by one or more processors 131, acommunication including an indication of a desire of the child topurchase a product from a merchant. The method can further compriseaccessing, by the processor(s) 131, an account of the parent of thechild, e.g., the parent account 133. The method can further comprisedetermining, by the processor(s) 131, from the account of the parentwhether or not the child is authorized to purchase the product. Themethod can further comprise accessing, by the processor(s) 131, achild's social network 150 and determining a location of the child. Themethod can further comprise accessing, by the processor(s) 131, aparent's social network 160 and determining a location of the parent.The method can further comprise providing, by the processors 131,authorization for the child to purchase the product if the child and theparent are at the same location.

According to an embodiment, a computer program product can comprise anon-transitory computer readable medium that can have computer readableand executable code. The computer readable and executable code caninstruct the processor(s) 131 to perform the method.

According to an embodiment, geofencing can be used to define a boundarywithin which the child and/or the parent must be for the child to make apurchase. That is, a geographic boundary can be used to determine wherepurchases can be made by the child. The boundary can be defined by astore, a group of stores, a mall, a shopping area, a theme park, a city,a town, or any other area or geographic location. The area can bedefined upon a map. The area can be selected upon the map or drawn, suchas electronically with a touch screen, upon the map. The child can berequired to be within the boundary in order for the child to make apurchase. Both the child and the parent can be required to be within thesame boundary or within different boundaries in order for the child tomake a purchase. For example, a family can take a trip to Disneyland andthe parent can allow the child to spend up to $50 anywhere withinDisneyland. Thus, the parent does not have to approve every shop inDisneyland for purchases made by the child. Instead, the parent canapprove limited amounts based on boundaries.

In implementation of the various embodiments, embodiments of theinvention may comprise a personal computing device, such as a personalcomputer, laptop, PDA, cellular phone or other personal computing orcommunication devices. The payment provider system may comprise anetwork computing device, such as a server or a plurality of servers,computers, or processors, combined to define a computer system ornetwork to provide the payment services provided by a payment providersystem.

In this regard, a computer system may include a bus or othercommunication mechanism for communicating information, whichinterconnects subsystems and components, such as a processing component(e.g., processor, micro-controller, digital signal processor (DSP),etc.), a system memory component (e.g., RAM), a static storage componentROM), a disk drive component (e.g., magnetic or optical), a networkinterface component (e.g., modem or Ethernet card), a display component(e.g., CRT or LCD), an input component (e.g., keyboard or keypad),and/or cursor control component (e.g., mouse or trackball). In oneembodiment, a disk drive component may comprise a database having one ormore disk drive components.

The computer system may perform specific operations by processor andexecuting one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained ina system memory component. Such instructions may be read into the systemmemory component from another computer readable medium, such as staticstorage component or disk drive component. In other embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions to implement the invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a computer system 400 suitable forimplementing one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Invarious implementations, the PIN pad and/or merchant terminal maycomprise a computing device (e.g., a personal computer, laptop, smartphone, tablet, PDA, Bluetooth device, etc.) capable of communicatingwith the network. The merchant and/or payment provider may utilize anetwork computing device (e.g., a network server) capable ofcommunicating with the network. It should be appreciated that each ofthe devices utilized by users (such as children and parents), merchants,and payment providers may be implemented as computer system 400 in amanner as follows.

Computer system 400 includes a bus 402 or other communication mechanismfor communicating information data, signals, and information betweenvarious components of computer system 400. Components include aninput/output (I/O) component 404 that processes a user action, such asselecting keys from a keypad/keyboard, selecting one or more buttons orlinks, etc., and sends a corresponding signal to bus 402. I/O component404 may also include an output component, such as a display 411 and acursor control 413 (such as a keyboard, keypad, mouse, etc.). Anoptional audio input/output component 405 may also be included to allowa user to use voice for inputting information by converting audiosignals. Audio I/O component 405 may allow the user to hear audio. Atransceiver or network interface 406 transmits and receives signalsbetween computer system 400 and other devices, such as a user device, amerchant server, or a payment provider server via network 460. In oneembodiment, the transmission is wireless, although other transmissionmediums and methods may also be suitable. A processor 412, which can bea micro-controller, digital signal processor (DSP), or other processingcomponent, processes these various signals, such as for display oncomputer system 400 or transmission to other devices via a communicationlink 418. Processor 412 may also control transmission of information,such as cookies or IP addresses, to other devices.

Components of computer system 400 also include a system memory component414 (e.g., RAM), a static storage component 416 (e.g., ROM), and/or adisk drive 417. Computer system 400 performs specific operations byprocessor 412 and other components by executing one or more sequences ofinstructions contained in system memory component 414. Logic may beencoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to processor 412 forexecution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Invarious implementations, non-volatile media includes optical or magneticdisks, volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as system memorycomponent 414, and transmission media includes coaxial cables, copperwire, and fiber optics, including wires that comprise bus 402. In oneembodiment, the logic is encoded in non-transitory computer readablemedium. In one example, transmission media may take the form of acousticor light waves, such as those generated during radio wave, optical, andinfrared data communications.

Some common forms of computer readable and executable media include, forexample, floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any othermagnetic medium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, papertape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, ROM,E2PROM, FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave,or any other medium from which a computer is adapted to read.

In various embodiments, execution of instruction sequences forpracticing the invention may be performed by a computer system. Invarious other embodiments, a plurality of computer systems coupled by acommunication link (e.g., LAN, WLAN, PTSN, or various other wired orwireless networks) may perform instruction sequences to practice theinvention in coordination with one another.

Modules described herein can be embodied in one or more computerreadable media or be in communication with one or more processors toexecute or process the steps described herein.

A computer system may transmit and receive messages, data, informationand instructions, including one or more programs (i.e., applicationcode) through a communication link and a communication interface.Received program code may be executed by a processor as received and/orstored in a disk drive component or some other non-volatile storagecomponent for execution.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosuremay be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein may be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein may be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components may be implemented as hardware components andvice-versa—for example, a virtual Secure Element (vSE) implementation ora logical hardware implementation.

Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as programcode and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readable andexecutable mediums. It is also contemplated that software identifiedherein may be implemented using one or more general purpose or specificpurpose computers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise.Where applicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may bechanged, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-stepsto provide features described herein.

As used herein, the term “store” can include any business or place ofbusiness. The store can be a brick and mortar store or an online store.The store can be any person or entity that sells a product.

As used herein, the term “product” can include any item or service.Thus, the term “product” can refer to physical products, digital goods,services, or anything for which a user can make a payment, includingcharitable donations. A product can be anything that can be sold.

As used herein, the term “merchant” can include any seller of products.The term merchant can include a store. The products can be sold from astore or in any other manner.

As used herein, the term “mobile device” can include any portableelectronic dev that can facilitate data communications, such as via acellular network and/or the Internet. Examples of mobile devices includecellular telephones, smart phones, tablet computers, and laptopcomputers.

As used herein, the term “parent” can include any person who hasauthority and/or capacity to make at least some decisions regardinganother person. For example, the term “parent” can include an adult, abiological parent, a foster parent, a guardian, a custodian, anemployer, a supervisor, or any other person (such as a person designatedby a biological parent, a foster parent, a guardian, a custodian, anemployer, or a supervisor).

As used herein, the term “child” can include any person who lacksauthority and/or capacity to make at least some decisions regardingtheir self. For example, the term “child” can include a minor, abiological child, a foster child, a person who has a guardian, a personwho has a custodian, an employee, someone who has a supervisor, or anyother person who has a parent, as defined herein.

Thus, a parent can have the ability to restrict authorization ofpayments for purchases based upon the child's check in via alocation-aware network, a social network. The payment can be anelectronic payment, such as via a credit card, debit card, gift card,hardware security token, software security token, mobile device, or anyother device. The payment can be a mobile payment, such as a paymentmade with or facilitated by a mobile device.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present inventionto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. It iscontemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modifications tothe present invention, whether explicitly described or implied herein,are possible in light of the disclosure. Having thus described variousexample embodiments of the disclosure, persons of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. Thus, the invention islimited only by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a non-transitory memory;and one or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memoryand configured to read instructions from the non-transitory memory tocause the system to perform operations comprising: detecting a requestto make a purchase from a mobile device of a first entity; determining,in response to the detected request, whether a second entity hasauthority to make purchasing decisions for the first entity;determining, in response to a determination that the second entity hasauthority to make purchasing decisions for the first entity, whether thefirst entity is located within a first distance to the second entity,wherein the determining whether the first entity is located within thefirst distance to the second entity comprises retrieving a firstlocation of the first entity via a Global Positioning System (GPS) ofthe mobile device and a second location of the second entity via a GPSof a mobile device of the second entity; and applying a first set ofpurchasing limitations to the request in response to the determinationthat the second entity has authority to make purchasing decisions forthe first entity and a determination that the first entity is locatedwithin the first distance to the second entity.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the operations further comprise: applying a second set ofpurchasing limitations to the request in response to the determinationthat the second entity has authority to make purchasing decisions forthe first entity and a determination that the first entity is notlocated within the first distance to the second entity.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the determining whether the second entity has authorityto make purchasing decisions for the first entity comprises accessing anelectronic social network account of the first entity and accessing anelectronic social network account of the second entity.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the determining whether the first entity is locatedwithin the first distance to the second entity comprises: electronicallyretrieving a geographical boundary that was defined via the mobiledevice of the second entity; and determining whether the first entity islocated within the geographical boundary at least in part based on theretrieved first location of the first entity.
 5. The system of claim 1,wherein the first entity comprises a child, and the second entitycomprises a parent.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first entitycomprises an employee, and the second entity comprises an employer. 7.The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:receiving, from the second entity, a specification of the firstdistance.
 8. A method, comprising: detecting a request to make apurchase from a mobile device of a first entity; determining, inresponse to the detected request, whether the first entity has asubservient relationship with a second entity; determining, in responseto a determination that the first entity has the subservientrelationship with the second entity, whether the first entity is locatedwithin a first distance to the second entity, wherein the determiningwhether the first entity is located proximate to the second entitycomprises retrieving a first location of the first entity via a GlobalPositioning System (GPS) of the mobile device of the first entity and asecond location of the second entity via a GPS of a mobile device of thesecond entity; and applying a first set of purchasing limitations to therequest in response to the determination that the first entity has thesubservient relationship with the second entity and a determination thatthe first entity is located within the first distance to the secondentity.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: applying a secondset of purchasing limitations to the request in response to thedetermination that the first entity has the subservient relationshipwith the second entity and a determination that the first entity is notlocated within the first distance to the second entity.
 10. The methodof claim 8, wherein the determining whether the first entity has thesubservient relationship with the second entity comprises accessing anelectronic social network account of the first entity and accessing anelectronic social network account of the second entity.
 11. The methodof claim 8, wherein the determining whether the first entity is locatedwithin the first distance to the second entity comprises: electronicallyretrieving a geographical boundary that was defined via the mobiledevice of the second entity; and determining whether the first entity islocated within the geographical boundary at least in part based on theretrieved first location of the first entity.
 12. The method of claim 8,wherein the first entity comprises a child, and the second entitycomprises a parent.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the first entitycomprises an employee, and the second entity comprises an employer. 14.The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving, from the secondentity, a specification of the first distance.
 15. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium having stored thereon machine-readableinstructions executable to cause a machine to perform operationscomprising: detecting a request to make a purchase from a first mobiledevice of a first entity; determining, in response to the detectedrequest, whether the first entity has a subservient relationship with asecond entity; determining, in response to a determination that thefirst entity has the subservient relationship with the second entity,whether the first mobile device is located within a threshold distancefrom a second mobile device of the second entity, wherein thedetermining whether the first mobile device is located within thethreshold distance from a second mobile device comprises retrieving, viaa Global Positioning System (GPS) of the first mobile device and thesecond mobile device, respectively, a first location of the first mobiledevice and a second location of the second mobile device; and applying afirst set of purchasing limitations to the request in response to thedetermination that the first entity has the subservient relationshipwith the second entity and a determination that the first mobile deviceis located within the threshold distance from the second mobile device.16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein theoperations further comprise: applying a second set of purchasinglimitations to the request in response to the determination that thefirst entity has the subservient relationship with the second entity anda determination that the first mobile device is not located within thethreshold distance from the second mobile device.
 17. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determining whether thefirst entity has the subservient relationship with the second entitycomprises accessing an electronic social network account of the firstentity and accessing an electronic social network account of the secondentity.
 18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the determining whether the first mobile device is locatedwithin the threshold distance from a second mobile device comprises:electronically retrieving a geographical boundary that was defined viathe second mobile device; and determining whether the first mobiledevice is located within the threshold distance of the second mobiledevice at least in part based on the retrieved first location of thefirst mobile device.
 19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein: the first entity comprises a child, an employee, or asupervisee; and the second entity comprises, respectively, a parent, anemployer, or a supervisor.
 20. The non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving,from the second entity, a specification of the threshold distance.